Northern San Juan
AvalancheOPUS Hut Level 2 SAS · Jan 11, 2018 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Light snowfall in the morning gave way to clear skies by 0900. Temps were in the teens to low 20’s by midday. Moderate winds were producing blowing snow at ridgetops increasing in the afternoon.
Snowpack
Wednesday’s storm brought 2+ feet of low density snow to the area. Average HS 90cm. Strong winds actively redistributed snow near and above TL during the storm causing a natural avalanche cycle on some E-NE facing slopes near and above TL. Our party didn’t note any cracking or collapsing but another party experienced some near creeks and bushes. In a 92cm snow pit on a SE aspect near TL the relatively uniform new slab sat on top of a series of M/F crusts and faceted snow with a 5cm- thin layer of depth hoar above the ground. Tests yielded repeated failures on the 1/9 interface. ECTPH down 62cm from surface. PST35/100 end at the same interface.
Avalanche
Numerous natural avalanches were observed that ran during the storm in a cross-loaded NE aspect near TL. They appeared to have run at the new/old snow interface.